Lost: Via Domus is a game based off of the popular and somewhat confusing TV series, Lost. The game takes place between seasons one and two, and you play as an unfamiliar survivor of Oceanic 815, which has crash landed on a Pacific island over a thousand miles off course.
Being a fan of the Lost series, I have been somewhat anxiously awaiting the game in the hope of being able to explore, and with any luck uncover some of the mysteries of the island that the show has not revealed.

Via Domus from the beginning proved very promising, but once some time is spent with it I quickly realized that the game is much more linear than I anticipated. Still, I believe every game has its faults and Lost: Via Domus is by no means a bad game; it’s just not as good as I had initially hoped. The best thing about the game is the authenticity, a lot of the characters really do look like those from the TV show, and sadly only a few of the actual cast seem to have lent their voices for the game.

Does the Lost video game ask more questions than it answers, and more importantly does it fall into the all too familiar category of movie/TV show equaling to an absolutely appalling game?

Gameplay:

What is most interesting about the game is the way the missions are paced. Each mission or level basically acts as an episode from the series, with a rather odd ending here and there. The good thing about this, other than the usual “previously on Lost...” introduction to each episode, is that this works very well for passing time and the events around you; which makes more sense than roaming around and having time go by in real time.

As mentioned previously, you are one of the survivors of Oceanic 815. Unluckily you are suffering from a bad case of amnesia (isn’t everybody?), though the real issue is that your fellow survivors think you are one of the "Others", who have been living on the island for some time before the 815 crash.
The core gameplay revolves around exploring the environment, engaging in discussions with fellow survivors in the hope of jogging your memory, as you need to remember your past, even more so because one of the survivors apparently knows you and wants to kill you. Being persistent will eventually result in a flashback sequence where you can take a photograph using your camera of a key event, doing so successfully will help you remember and be able to search for further clues in the area.

As you progress further you will gain access to areas that you will recognize from the series, this is where Via Domus is at its best; searching the Black Rock, running from that deadly black smoke and gaining access to the hatch and getting the opportunity to enter Hurley’s cursed Lottery numbers into an ancient looking computer (oh my god, I got to press the button!).

The other thing that I liked about this game is the exploration of dark areas such as a cave for example. Here you have to use your wits, your lighter or torch and keep your ears wide open. It is in dark areas like this that provide some degree of tension and the use of sound that makes Via Domus so ‘Lost’ like.

One thing I certainly did not appreciate were the puzzles, yes puzzles are to be expected and there are some that require a bit of thinking on a computer. The ones I hate the most are the fuse boxes, perhaps there’s a way of understanding it easier than I have realized yet. I spent a fair amount of time with some of these and they can be a real pain to get past at certain points. You simply must insert different fuses to get the right voltage, which is easy enough until you need to power multiple sources on one board. These are mainly used for opening locked doors or powering down some hardware for some specific reasons.

Graphics:

Though most of the areas are fairly small this is made up for in the attention to detail such as the beach, jungle, Black Rock and the Hatch amongst other areas all look spot on compared to the same areas seen in the TV series. The majority of the survivors, whom most of which have all been captured and re-created flawlessly within the game, do really look so much like those seen in the series. As far as character detail and likeness go, Lost: Via Domus has captured the likenesses, certainly more so than I have seen in any other game that features real-life characters.

Sound:

As with the series, the sound really helps to capture the imagination of the viewer or in this case the gamer. Via Domus is no different and offers up the right audio when it’s needed. Some of the cast have spent the time and added their voices to the game; clearly some put more of an effort in than others. Michael, Ben and Juliet all sound convincing and make a believable transition from TV show to video game. It’s a shame though that more of the cast didn’t take the time to help make the game as authentic as possible.

Longevity:

There’s no specific reason to replay the game, there is no difficulty selections and everything can be done on the first play through (in around 10 hours or less) . The achievements are also fairly easy to come by, though it is also easy to miss a couple. Re-launching from a previous episode is the best bet if you know what you’re going for and what you need to do.

Overall:

Lost: Via Domus is above the average movie/show turn video game, it has its faults but does have some very nice touches. Sadly, I think only fans of Lost will actually appreciate and notice some of these things, such as the beeping sound as you need to enter the numbers in a hurry, or perhaps they’re better known as Hurley’s cursed Lottery numbers?

This is Lost and the game has to end but does the game’s ending mean anything in the Lost world that we’ve been viewing?